Uniden Grant XL repair tips

"Helpful goodies"Overmod problems? Insert a resistor in series with the diode or capacitor that has been clipped. A variable potentiometer is handy- (1K - 15K) and have it mounted on the radio for easy adjustment.

RF feedback problems? Try this-Inside the radio, solder a .001uF or a .01uF cap from the audio input from the mic- to the shield ground. OR, Try a 10K resistor inline with your audio input wire. OR Ferrite beads will also help- slip a couple over the audio input wire before it goes to the mic gain or the board.

Here's a "newbee" XL SSB operator tip: When you operate on sideband while stationary, turning OFF your ANL/NB switch will allow you to lower adjacent AM interference. -good for highly populated AM used areas- If mobile, vehicle noise may be more important to blank out though.

Soldering tips:

Use a low wattage soldering "pencil" type iron around 25-35 watts -and- When soldering a new component into the board be aware of the heat generated- it will damage the part. Transistors are VERY sensitive to heat and should have a clipping heat sink (or forcepts) on the leg of the component. Clamped closest to the part before soldering to avoid damage.

Working with RF (clear glass type) diodes When installing or working with these diodes- (such as 1n3's, 1n4's, 1n6's and schottkys, etc.) NEVER use cutting "snips" to remove excess leads from these diodes. The shock of the "snip" will damage the properties of the diodeand you wont get the most out of your signal or detector diode. (Or worse yet, won't work at all!) Use a cutter with a type of "scissor" action to remove the excess leads.

Here's an idea..switching wires on mic switch must connect when transmitting, stay open during receive.

Put inside the mic housing- try it- experiment- you might like it- Just a note....normal voice range is between 300 - 400 Hz. Microphones have a general "wide" range of audio pick-up.

Grant XL "Up-keep" Get out your tiny phillips and needle-nose pliers- Because one of the biggest problems that occur with the Grant XL -is- When these radios come from the factory, the high heat dissapating transistors are not fully tightened down to the back plate of the radio thus premature burn-out occurs due to the transistors not cooling down properly. Tighten- BUT DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN Q501 - 2sc1969 Q502 - 2sc2166 Q503 - 2sd1135 Over-tightening will actually pull the transistor AWAY from the back plate acting as the heat sink for the transistor. I have found MANY XLs' that had loose screw mounting for these three transistors. "Snug" these up before you run into trouble!

SSB audio filter (super simple) This simple audio filter can be the difference of pulling out the weak ones or signing off. I have used this extensively on shortwave receivers as well and have had great success with this. Sideband transmissions sometimes have a "low-end rumble" and can hinder your receive of the signal. Static in itself has a low and high end for noise in the received audio Hz level. What this filter does is cut all the low-end Hz and "pushes" the mid-range to the high end of the audio Hz range.

The filter consists of a 10uF 50v NON-polarized electrolytic capacitor- used for speaker crossovers. A micro spdt switch, and some wire. Where the + positive wire goes to the speaker, unsolder this and resolder to the center contact of the switch. Solder each leg of the NON-polarized Cap to the outside switch contacts Solder a wire onto either one of the outside switch contacts, from that wire back to the + contact of the speaker. Mount switch where needed.

This can be done on perf board and put in any home-made speaker cabinet or external communications speaker. The 1uF cap on the input is polarized (+/-)